Authenticity

On the beverage battle ground, small businesses face off against the entrenched Big Guys.  The makers of MADE organic drinks smartly tap into developing consumer trends (organic+flavorful+craftsmanship) to bring all their forces to bear.  Grass roots tactics and a passion for the product are driving the small company's success. This is a guest post written by Allison Cash, Vice President of Marketing for Tenaya, LLC., makers of MADE organic drinks.  With names like Cranberry Limeade and Pomegranate...

Anyone who's browsed this blog understands my passion for the consumer/customer. I assert that they MAKE your business. Yes, that may sound obvious--the premise is commerce, after all. But what I mean is, consumer insight is the holy grail business strategists, product developers, marketers, and sales forces should forsake most other tools for.  Insight can help a business: Anticipate: flaws, lack of functionality, holes in offering suites Mitigate: lessen the impact or importance of flaws...

What's that old saw?  "Charity begins at home."  I'm beginning to fully understand that the same could be said for stewardship, or championing, goals and ideals. For instance, let's say one of your goals, as marketing manager, is to identify short and long term strategies for developing consumer affinity and ultimately loyalty.  Now that is a one-sentence goal, but it sure does have heavy implications.  Consumers are inhereintly fickle and the economic and political climate is so unstable...

Consider for a moment some homespun memories from your childhood.  Maybe a fond one is about that vacation to the Grand Canyon, your family traveling in an RV with sounds from an eight-track flowing through tinny speakers and the fights you had with your brother over who got shotgun.  Maybe another includes weeks spent on the beach shore, waking to the sounds of gulls and the briny scent of the ocean.  It all depends on your unique family and where you grew up, I suppose.  Perhaps a memory that...